Don't Forget Me
by LightPhyre
Summary: When Yato comes to the realization that in order for Hiyori to have a full, realistic life, he'll eventually need to disappear and be forgotten, he starts to think more seriously about her. So, he tries to make it so that Hiyori will never ask him to leave... but can he really be so selfish to someone he cares so much for, especially when she tells him how she feels about him...?
**Don't Forget Me**

 **Chapter One:**

Yato was late.

Again.

Not that Hiyori was waiting for him or anything... She mentally rolled her eyes.

She crossed her arms tightly across her chest as she sat down at the table. Kofuku and Daikoku sat across from her, sipping their teas. The tall man sighed and put down his cup.

"You shouldn't expect so much from him," he said, and Hiyori lowered her gaze. Today was supposed to be important. Did he just forget about it? Or did he not care enough to be on time? Maybe a little of both.

"Yatty doesn't mean any harm, though," Kofuku added gently. "You know that. It's just how he is."

Hiyori nodded, but continued staring at her hands in her lap.

"By the way, where's Yukine?" Daikoku asked, looking around. "He hasn't been in here since early this morning. He ran off saying something about practice…? And Yato left even earlier than him. He didn't say where he was going."

"I hope he's all right…" Hiyori mumbled. She couldn't help but feel sad. She'd told him about this great restaurant that everyone in school was talking about, and he made her promise she'd take him there. And even though he'd been excited at the time, it seemed like he must have forgotten all about it. It was a shame because Hiyori had wanted to go, too, but no one else invited her…

"He's fine." Kofuku finished off the last of her tea and stood up from the floor. Hiyori figured it was time for her to head out then.

"I'll see you guys, later, okay?" she said, waving and forcing a smile as she stood. Daikoku frowned as she headed for the exit.

"Don't be too mad at Yatty," Kofuku called to her with a light smile, "He can't stand it when you're mad at him."

What was that supposed to mean?

Hiyori shrugged off the comment. How was she supposed to be mad at Yato, anyway? It was like getting mad at a child. Or a puppy. It just wasn't worth it. Whatever Yato did, he didn't mean it. It was always like this. She should have expected him to forget about dinner…

Hiyori sighed and made her way back home. Her body was intact, so she couldn't jump over the rooftops, and she ended up taking the long way home, in hopes that maybe Yato would stop her and apologize and take her for dinner. Of course, it never happened, and she stood outside her home for a few minutes, just staring at the door in the cold. She breathed in and out, watching the white clouds come out of her mouth with each exhale. She made one last huff and watched the cloud her breathing made before heading inside. She locked the door and walked to her bedroom, shutting herself away for the night.

She considered taking a nice, hot bath, but instead ended up changing and going straight for the warmth under her covers. She remembered when Yato and Yukine stayed at her house for a while, and for a moment, longed for the company. They never visited at night anymore because they were allowed to stay with Kofuku now. They slept over there, and she always ended up back home, alone.

It wasn't that she minded being alone, but she couldn't help but feel like being connected to Yato and the other gods made her life as a mortal quite… unsociable. She barely talked to her friends and she didn't do much with anyone other than Yato and Yukine.

She did go to that one fair with her friends a couple months ago… with Fujisaki Kouto…

She felt awful whenever she thought of that kiss. It had been her opportunity at a normal life, and she's thrown it away. She hadn't yet decided if she regretted it or not. A part of her did, and that was why she felt bad just thinking about it.

If she'd been in the moment… If she said she wanted to start seeing Fujisaki more often…

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. No. If she connected too much with the Near Shore, she would forget all about Yato and the others, and that was too painful to think about. And she'd been so close to forgetting about him. She remembered thinking that there was something she'd been missing, and when she finally snapped out of it, she realized just how easy it would be for her to forget about Yato.

So for now, she needed to stay close to him. She needed to be around him all the time. She never wanted to forget about him like that again. She couldn't stand it…

And that kiss… She didn't know what to make of it. She knew that when it happened, those lost memories made her feel like she had betrayed someone, but she hadn't been able to think of who it was. And now that she could think clearly about the gods again, she believed that their two worlds didn't mix. And eventually, she would have to choose only one of them… She knew that reality was the best option, but for now she could still have her otherworldly friends beside her. She dreaded the day when she would have to make that final choice. She hoped that it would never come. And at the same time, she did her best not to think about it too much. It always got her down.

Hiyori knew that she had a lot to think about, and her emotions were getting the better of her. She figured she wasn't going to get much sleep that night…

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Yato stretched. He raised his arms above his head and yawned loudly. He rolled over—and fell to the ground.

He groaned and rubbed the side of his head, looking around.

"What the…"

He looked up to find a thick tree branch. Right. He'd decided to take a nap there a little while ago. But the sun was already going down; it was late. He yawned and stretched again as he stood. He wondered where Yukine was. He hadn't seen him all day.

Yato shrugged to himself and made his way back home.

When he got to the familiar shrine, the god of poverty and her shinki were nowhere to be seen, which was odd. The large man usually kept the master of disaster on lockdown in her shrine. Maybe they were out back…?

Yato climbed the short flight of stairs to find that Yukine wasn't here, either. His bed was made from the morning, but it didn't look like he came back yet.

Even though he'd just woken from a nap, Yato yawned once more and flopped down on his bedspread. He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on one elbow, eyeing the one thing he always kept close at night—his shrine. He smiled at it and pushed it a few inches back, just in case he rolled around a little in his sleep and knocked it over or something.

Warmth in his chest, he rolled over and faced the window.

"Yato."

"Hmm?" He rolled back over to find Daikoku standing in the doorway, his frame just a silhouette in the dark of sundown. Yato glanced around nervously—the taller man scared him sometimes.

"Aren't you forgetting something important?"

"Eh?" Yato lifted an eyebrow and sat up. Daikoku just shook his head at the god and walked away. "Wait! Daikoku! What do you mean?" Yato jumped up and walked after the man.

"You're hopeless. You know that, right?"

Yato stopped in the small kitchen area and wiped the almost-sleep from his eyes.

"What did I miss?" he asked, tilting his head, but the man still didn't answer him.

"Yatty," Kofuku said, entering the room. She looked upset. "You really forgot?"

"Forgot what? Will someone just tell me what I missed? I wasn't gone for that long, was I?"

"She was waiting here for a couple hours," Daikoku said, and Yato paused, blinking a few times. "Sometimes I think she'd be better off without you…"

Yato frowned, and then scratched his head.

"Who are we talking about?"

A moment of silence passed and Yato stood frozen.

His shrine…

"Hiyori…"

"You do realize," Daikoku said softly, and Yato's ears perked up when the man's tone wasn't harsh, but saddening, "That that girl won't wait for you forever… Don't you?"

"Huh?" The man shook his head and turned his back to the two gods, twisting the faucet and washing some dishes in the sink. If Yato really didn't understand this… Then he was going to have a wakeup call soon, and he wasn't going to like it.

"Kofuku…" Yato said, turning to the pink-haired god. Her usual bouncy attitude was now deflated. Yato knew he's screwed up this time just from their reactions. Daikoku wasn't shouting or punching, and Kofuku just looked plain sad. "She was… Hiyori was waiting here for me?"

She nodded. "For that dinner thing. She said you two planned it."

"Oh, that's right…"

"He's right, Yatty…" Kofuku lowered her eyes tot eh floor. "Hiyori isn't going to be around forever. You know she'll have to leave us behind eventually to have a human life… The time you have with her should be precious to you."

"It is!"

More silence slipped by and Yato lowered his head as well.

"I screwed up…"

"Yea…"

"Was she mad?"

"I don't think so. Just… disappointed."

That made him feel even worse. He'd rather she take out her frustrations on him instead of just being upset that he didn't show up.

"Do you like Hiyori?" Kofuku asked, and Yato immediately nodded. "That's… not what I mean…"

Yato tilted his head to the side, and Daikoku turned back around, letting the water run behind him.

"Lady Kofuku… Now's not the time for that."

"Time for what?" Yato asked, quickly glancing back and forth between the two of them as they exchanged thoughts… or something.

"Nothing," the man finally replied, and Kofuku went back to looking at the ground. "Just try and appreciate her a little more. You know that girl would do anything for you. The least you could do is remember your goddamn arrangements with her."

The silence came back, but before it could settle in, Yato turned away.

"I'm going to get some sleep."

Neither of them had the will to reply, so Yato made his way back upstairs and to his makeshift bed. He laid down and flipped onto his side, staring at his beloved shrine. His vision turned blurry and a puddle slowly formed on his pillow., making the one side of his face wet.

He wasn't going to get much sleep tonight…


End file.
